He begins the piece with an explanation of the two theories of where ideas come from, those being the Western theory of ideas being conjured up by thought and the Eastern perspective that believes ideas are innate and just need to be dug up. Affirming that both are valid, Ditkoff goes into his 14 different ways to get ideas. Sparing the individual details, the 14 methods are:
- Follow Your Fascinations
- Immerse, Tolerate Ambiguity
- Make New Connections
- Fantasize
- Define the Right Challenge
- Listen To Your Subconscious
- Take A Break
- Notice and Challenge Existing Patterns and Trends
- Hang Out With Diverse Groups of People
- Brainstorm
- Look For Happy Accidents
- Use Creative Thinking Techniques
- Suspend Logic
Each suggestion is inspirational, well-supported, and equipped with guiding questions that could help someone act upon one of these methods. Three that really stood out to me are the following:
Follow Your Fascination
"Fascination, quite simply, is nature's way of getting out attention." I love this suggestion, particularly because I am a firm believer that nature and the universe are on our side and trying to guide us in the right direction. Basically what Ditkoff is proposing is that if we find our self fascinated by something that we as artists should exploit this one thing for our creative work. I think this is a great suggestion for generating ideas because if you are fascinated by it then you have interest, and it is well known that having interest in something makes it easier to work with and learn more about. In the grand scheme of the "14 Ways" I think it is also a great first step because it is easy and approachable. Anyone can zone in on something that they are fascinated in. If I were to implement this into my own creative pursuits, I would use my fascination of stars. I have always had a strange fascination with stars and the sky, and it seems that the music, movies, and other forms of art that I enjoy often involve the cosmos. For example, the poster hanging on the wall of my dorm right now is Van Gogh's "Cafe Terrace at Night" in which the nigh sky is very important. I am now taking an Astronomy class which is incredibly interesting to me as well. So to use Ditkoff's suggestion I could try to think of a movie plot line that involves space. I could use this to make a character that is in love with the stars or even take a more scifi route. I always thought that one of the most interesting things within Astronomy is the fact that what we see in the sky is actually a visual representation of what those individual celestial beings looked like thousands of years ago. This could be the basis of a very interesting plot.
Take a Break
Too much of anything is never a good thing. In just about any project whether it is creative or not, complete and constant immersion is not beneficial. This is why Ditkoff's suggestion of taking a break is one that I agree with very strongly. There have been many times when I have been trying to come up with an idea for an essay or a project, and nothing comes to me. However, upon taking a break something usually pops into my head while in recess or once I sit back down whatever I am working on makes sense in different ways than before. This also incorporates some of the other 14 ways because while on break there is time to observe your surroundings and really listen to yourself without the pressure of the project weighing you down. A change of setting is sometimes all it takes to come up with a brilliant idea. Using this suggestion in my own creative work would probably come along in the process of screenwriting. Writer's block is inevitable in any writing project, and the best cure is to take a break. So in my future if I were to write a script and came upon a dead end, I would take a break and come back and review everything that I had come up with thus far. If successful, I would be able to see the project in a new light that would allow me to continue.
Hang Out With Diverse Groups of People
I found this suggestion to be interesting because I feel like we are often told the opposite, that immersing our self in a group of artists of the same trade will inspire us. I think that both are right, but what makes this a great suggestion is the fact that we are so often stuck with people of our own trade. College for example, we are separated into majors and surrounded constantly by people who are doing the same things as us. I am even in a dorm that is almost entirely students in the Media School. As much as this is helpful, in the pursuit of ideas I can see exactly why hanging out with diverse people can make the brain crank. Personally, hanging out with diverse people would be perfect for finding characters. A creative Writing teacher once told me that if we could not create a character to go people watching and create stories for the various people you see until you find one you like. Hanging out with other people would also do the job, and allow for me to really get to know people to create characters from. Their diverse interests can leak into my own work.
Activity for Make New Connections:
Nouns
Panda
Peanut Butter
Lake
Hot Air Balloon
Shovel
Bridge
Pinwheel
Waterfall
Balcony
Boombox
Verbs
Trap
Attack
Visualize
Control
Skip
Tumble
Toss
Dance
Argue
Smile
Adjectives
Slimy
Sparkly
Timid
Shallow
Hairy
Freckly
Expensive
Complicated
Yellow
Foolish
Intriguing Connections:
A foolish Panda gets trapped.
A complicated dance to acquire Peanut Butter.
An argument about a sparkly pinwheel.
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